Does anyone have a change of pants? Because there’s a new promo out for this season’s final six episodes of The Vampire Diaries, and I may have wet myself with excitement while watching it. When the show finally returns April 7: Jenna (Sara Canning) loses her mind, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) loses his shirt, and Elena (Nina Dobrev) FINALLY tells off her bi-atch of a mother, Isobel (Mia Kirshner!) God, I hate Isobel…

Other highlights include: Alaric (Matt Davis) delivering a well-deserved punch in the face to father-of-the-year John Gilbert (David Anders) and Bonnie (Katerina Graham) having a major magical freakout. (I’m more scared than ever for the well-being of our First Lady of Sass.)

Meanwhile, Matt (Zach Roerig) continues to struggle with his newfound awareness of vampires — and he brings his issues to Caroline’s (Candice Accola) mom, who WAS privy to the knowledge herself before Caroline compelled her to forget.

Sometimes I think it’d be cool to live in Mystic Falls, but then I watch these previews… and I realize I could never handle it.

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Check out the teaser video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You’re not a real Mystic Falls vampire until you’ve been shot, kidnapped and mercilessly tortured — and this week was Caroline’s (Candice Accola) official initiation into the club. Even though she turned him down earlier, Tyler (Michael Trevino) still tried to save her from Jules’ (Michaela McManus) wolf pack. But it was the magical mystery machine himself, Dr. Martin, who crippled the wolves and helped our fanged friends get away alive.

Speaking of being ‘alive,’ Damon (Ian Somerhalder) continued to lament over his love for Elena (Nina Dobrev) and the struggle against his own humanity this week — and he managed to do it with absolutely no clothing on. But he also didn’t do it alone. He got himself a new bathtime snack, both literally and sexually, in the form of a reporter named Andie Star (Dawn Olivieri.)

Damon’s humanity is really coming to life quickly, and even as a full-time Delena shipper, I’m kind of unsettled. Not only is it weird just to see him exhibiting emotions, but it’s even more bizarre to see him admit he’s feeling them to Stefan (Paul Wesley.) How do you feel about the “new Damon?”

Amidst all the supernatural shenanigans, Elena had her own little struggle with papa John (David Anders), who put on his responsible dad hat and kept her from getting involved in any of it. He, however, is knee-deep in the situation: Not only did he hand Damon the key to killing the Originals, but he’s also in cahootz with Katherine — and he told her it’s only a matter of time before she’s out of the tomb!

But more than anything, this week’s episode reminded me just how blissfully ignorant Matt (Zach Roerig) and Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) are to the world around them. Alaric (Matt Davis) had to play dumb while Jenna “informed him” about Elena’s real parents, and Matt delivered a terrific line (“Hey, did something happen?”) to Caroline.

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John might be just what Elena needs to get herself off the ‘original’ vampires’ Most Wanted list!

UPDATE: The photo of Michael and David was taken in LA, not on the set of The Vampire Diaries as I had hoped.

Is daddy coming home soon? We told you Elena’s (Nina Dobrev) estranged father John (David Anders) was coming back to The Vampire Diaries – and now, thanks to Michael Trevino‘s compulsive tweeting habit, we’re more excited than ever!

Michael snapped a photo with David in LA and tweeted it out Dec. 28, saying, “Now for a little nightcap with my homie….. Mr. Anders!”

Though it’s still unconfirmed, we’ve been told John has the secret to killing Elijah, one of the “original” vampires currently toying with Elena’s existence.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from The Vampire Diaries it’s that anything is possible — so get to the comments section and start sharing your theories!

— Andy Swift

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Hold onto your seats for this one, TVD fans! We’ve learned from a source on The Vampire Diaries set that actor David Anders will be returning to the show for episode 213. Not only that, but his character, John Gilbert, knows how to kill Elijah — the vampire who is after his daughter, Elena.

Although we’re not sure on how many episodes he’s set to appear, we’ll keep you posted as we hear.

The last time we saw John, he was packing his bags after Stefan told him Elena didn’t want him there. He gave his ring to Jeremy and we figured he had left Mystic Falls for good — so glad we were wrong!

–Kirstin Benson